The CW Television
Network and the WWE announced that WWE Friday
Night SmackDown would leave the CW prime time schedule at the
end of the 2007–2008 season. The news stepped in after negotiations
between the CW and WWE failed to reach a deal to keep the show on
the CW lineup. Three weeks later on February 26, MyNetworkTV announced
that they would pick up the program and would add it to its lineup
in September.

The BBC Three
"Blobs" are played out for the last time in the early hours of the
morning. A new set of idents debuted the same day, this is the
channels first ever rebrand since launching in early 2003.

February 17

The conversion of NTSC analog channels to DT channels using the
ATSC system begins in the United
States, with TV stations making last minute filings and their
intentions about when they will start their switchover ahead of the
February 17, 2009, mandatory date. Also, the US government starts
mailing out (USD)$40.00 coupons/rebates to consumers to use in
buying DTV converters before the switchover.

ABC's telecast of the 80th
Academy Awards draws record low ratings in the history of the
ceremony's telecast surpassing the ratings from the ceremony that
took
place in 2003. 31.76 million on average watched the show over
its entire run with a Nielsen rating of 18.66 households
watching.

Comedian Joan
Rivers is asked to leave the ITV1 afternoon talk show Loose Women after
swearing live on air. She was removed during the commercial break,
and said that she didn't realise the show was going out live and
thought her comments would be bleeped.

July–September

Date

Event

July 7

The Jewelry Channel, a US home shopping service that was shown
mostly on DirecTV and Dish Network,
launches a going out-of-business sale for its remaining items that
was shown on the channel that would last until December 1. From
December 1 onwards, TJC is now doing business as "The Liquidation
Channel".

Stand
Up to Cancer, an event designed to raise cancer awareness, airs
on ABC, CBS, NBC and E! in the United States, and on CTV, Citytv
and Global in Canada.

September 8

The Wilmington, North Carolina
television market officially becomes the first TV market in the
United States to have all of its stations broadcast exclusively in
digital, using the ATSC system.

September 15

WTMJ-TV/Milwaukee, Wisconsin drops all of its
syndicated shows, featuring a lineup that consists of local news
(including a four hour afternoon news block from 3 to 7PM, a first
in the United States Central Time Zone) and NBC programming.

September 20

After an 11 year run on the Cartoon Network, the action-adventure
block, Toonami, has been
cancelled, effective 11 PM EST.

Flint,
MichiganPBS
affiliate WFUM-TV (a.k.a. Michigan Television)
permanently turned off its analog signal and is now broadcasting
exclusively in digital, 9 months before
the federally mandated analog shut off date of June 12, 2009,
becoming the first station in its market, as well as the first PBS
station in Michigan, to broadcast in digital only.[3][4]

For the first time ever, a live music special is used to
announce the nominees for the 51st Grammy Awards.

December 8

HD
versions of American cable channels The Style Network, E!
Entertainment Television and G4 were scheduled to launch, but did
not launch, leaving many people with unanswered questions. Golf Channel and Versus
are identified as their own separate HD versions instead (as
12/8/08, they no longer share HD channel space, they now broadcast
2 separate HD programs at the same time).[5]

A new episode of the popular animated series Wallace and
Gromit, titled A Matter of Loaf and Death,
airs on BBC One. Watched by
16.15 million, it is the highest rated UK TV programme of the year
and the most watched show on any channel at Christmas for five
years.